Beauty routines are always personal, though Zoё Kelly’s (née Roebuck) is especially so. Kelly, along with her sister Kim Devin (née Roebuck), developed their own product line based on a recipe their parents formulated over 30 years ago in Sydney, Australia. The name Dr Roebuck’s refers to them both; a GP mother and surgeon father who, determined to provide comfort to their rashy, sensitive-skinned identical twin daughters, personally created a therapeutic cream based on an old English dermatological salve. “It’s a very pure, luxe cream, my parents couldn’t buy anything like it from the store,” says Kelly of the original Dr Roebuck’s product. “My sister and I would walk the formula down to our local chemist, who would mix it up for us. About five years ago, our friends tried it and wanted pots of their own, and soon, the chemist—who was about 70—kind of had it. He was like, ‘all I’m doing is making your cream, and I’m not making any money.’”
Kelly and Devin took it upon themselves to maintain production, and intent on assiduous quality control, gave their formalized line the family name. “Our father passed, and the line is a bit in his memory now,” says Kelly. “If you’re putting your family name on it, you’ve got to really believe in what you’re making.” She does. Each of Dr Roebuck’s 13 products—nine of which are available in Canada—embodies the twins’ philosophy of minimalistic efficacy, with lucidly listed ingredients anyone can understand (beeswax, rosehip seed oil, and vitamin E). “I was surprised at the consumer enthusiasm for knowing every ingredient in their skincare and why it is included. It’s a great sign, because even though people have started to become more concerned about what they eat, skin is the body’s largest and most absorbent organ,” says Kelly.
Cold-pressed, Australian-grown macadamia and rosehip oils feature prominently in the line due to their no-nonsense ability to deliver results. Equipped with a professional background in pharmaceuticals and clinical trials, Kelly personally verifies the integrity of each batch of botanical oil whipped into a Dr Roebuck’s cream. “Kim and I are continually searching for the best quality, most active, organic oils,” she explains. “We ensure all oils are grown and refined with the highest quality control and under ethical and environmentally friendly conditions.” Rosehips are a special botanical powerhouse, with stratospheric antioxidant and phytonutrient levels. They’re chocked with polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotene, which, in laymen’s terms, are a cocktail of organic compounds that pack an anti-inflammatory wallop. When applied to the skin, the extract negates free radicals, not only preventing, but reversing signs of aging thanks to its prostaglandins, tissue-regenerating fatty acids naturally produced when bodies heal. Medical functionality is fundamental to the brand’s identity. “That’s the benefit of my background coupled with having physician parents,” says Kelly. “We only include ingredients that we know have an effect.” And to that effect, there’s nothing extraneous in the product either—no fillers, no nasty chemicals.
The result is a collection of pharmaceutically high-quality creams for sensitive, irritable skin that work overtime with cosmetic perks. (Even the body lotion, which contains white tea, macadamia oil, and vitamin E, combats aging.) The original formation—from which all other products in the line are based—is called Pure. Pure is Dr Roebuck’s prescription for any and all, but particularly for those whose skin tends to react to creams with strong perfumes and chemical additives.
The line’s efficacy has a convincing spokesperson in Kelly herself, whose makeup-free face is softly lambent. “I have eczema, but you can’t see it,” she states. “That’s the point, the essential element of the line is that it’s for difficult, un-cooperative, reactive skin. ‘Precious skin’, as our parents called it.” Though not all of us were born to proactive moms and dads with a physician’s arsenal of know-how and bountiful ingenuity, when skin requires cosseting the twins have ensured the doctor will always be in.
